Do you find the Portal useful? We’re asking you to please take a minute today to keep our work going.
This year we added 1.2 million pages of material to the Portal and we need your investment to continue growing.
We’re only $100,000 away from meeting our year-end goals for the Challenge Grant we received from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
During our spring appeal, the average donor gave $30, but if even half the people who use the Portal this month give $5,
we’d meet our entire goal to raise matching funds for the endowment immediately.
The Portal connects people to the past, and your support will ensure its future.

Description:
Letter from Elvira Spurgin to Bettie Wade discussing recent news of family and friends. She mentions that the weather has been very cold in Belton, and she has some new boarders. Someone named Loraine had typhoid fever.

Description:
Letter from H. M. Bouldin to George W. and Bettie Wade discussing recent news. He says that he wishes he could see them, but he doesn't know when that will be possible. There is a note written at the top of the first page in pencil that says "to George W. Wade of Bastrop."

Description:
Letter from Jennie to Bettie Wade discussing her living situation in Houston, Texas, an upcoming trip to the North, the possibility of yellow fever in Houston during the summer, the hanging of an African American man who committed murder, and other news.

Description:
Letter from H. M. Bouldin to George W. Wade discussing work, chickens, the railroad, and other news. He mentions that George is currently unemployed. J. Bouldin wrote a note to her sister on the back saying that she will write soon. She mentions that Jennie bought a new hat, and she had her old one fixed up.

Description:
Minutes of the annual meeting of the Union Baptist Association in Texas include accounts of proceedings at the session, committee reports, statistics regarding Baptist churches in Texas, and other relevant notes and commentaries.

Description:
Minutes of the annual meeting of the Leon River Baptist Association in Texas include accounts of proceedings at the session, committee reports, statistics regarding Baptist churches in Texas, and other relevant notes and commentaries.

Description:
Photocopy of a letter from Gertrude Osterhout to Osterhout Family. Gertrude wrote her family to let them know how she was settling into life at Baylor College. She told them of her living accommodations, food, and the other girls that were there with her. The letter ended with her asking for some items to be sent to her and she spoke of her family and alterations she made to her uniforms.

Description:
Photocopy of a letter from Gertrude Osterhout to John Patterson Osterhout. She wrote to inform her father that she had received the items that were sent to her and detailed what a typical day studying at Baylor College entailed for her. She mentioned a reverend that came to campus and asked if her brother Paul would be joining her at school.

Description:
Photocopy of a letter from Gertrude Osterhout to Paul Osterhout. She wrote her brother and told him of all the talking that goes on in the church she attended and how concerned she was that she'd begin to pick up the slang used by her peers. She also requested that Paul send her some items she could not get locally.

Description:
Photocopy of a letter from Gertrude Osterhout to Ora Osterhout. She wrote her sister to update her on life at Baylor College. Gertrude mentioned how she had been sick recently, a prodigal student on campus, and other small bits of local news. She finished by asking about family and talking about clothing.

Description:
Photocopy of a letter from Gertrude Osterhout to her mother, Junia Roberts Osterhout. She wrote to update her mother on her school life. Gertrude informed her mother why she was taking a small course load, the high housekeeping standards at the boarding house, and the food that one of the women there makes for them. She requested that her mother send her some things and tell her brother, Paul, to write more often.

Description:
Journal of Gertrude Osterhout, kept while she was at Baylor Female College. The journal starts with entries on her life in the boarding house at the college, spanning from the end of 1881 to April of 1881. Between these entries and the final page, Gertrude kept quotations from different materials, including many from "Lucile" by Owen Meredith. The final entry is at the start of the new year in 1883. The journal is bound and has an illustration of a pink flower on the front cover.

Description:
Photocopy of a letter from Gertrude Osterhout to Ora Osterhout. She wrote to update her sister about life at school. She told her of a sermon she attended, social event, the food she had been eating while away from home, and other small bits of local news.

Description:
Photocopy of a letter from Gertrude Osterhout to Paul Osterhout. She wrote a reply to her brother's letter to update him on her life at school. Gertrude mentioned her lack of knowledge about current affairs and that the girls around her had voiced their opinions in politics. She included information about a trip out she had, a little about her studies, and other small bits of local news.

Description:
Photocopy of a letter from Gertrude Osterhout to John Patterson Osterhout. She wrote to update her father on her life at school. Gertrude informed him of her report of her grades and the two demerits she received for mistakes in housekeeping. She mentioned an incident where the girls scared a new boarder and another where the other girls were not allowed to go to a nearby party, so they lit firecrackers to attract the boys.

Description:
Photocopy of a letter from Gertrude Osterhout to Ora Osterhout. She wrote to her sister to update her on her school life. Gertrude mentioned how some girls at her school had pretended to be ghosts, a lesson she had to write to teach in one of her classes, and other small bits of news. She asked if her sister had written a letter to Santa Claus yet and if their mother was going to write her.

Description:
Photocopy of a letter from Gertrude Osterhout to Junia Roberts Osterhout. She wrote to inform her mother about life at school. She mentioned the poor weather they'd be having and the provisions the other girls had been receiving from home. Gertrude's teaching exercise was received well by the children she taught it to and she wrote of how the girls were upset they were not allowed to go to parties outside the boarding house. She told her mother she would see her Christmas time.

Description:
Photocopy of a letter from Gertrude Osterhout to John Patterson Osterhout. She wrote to her father to update him on her life at school. She told him about the bad weather they'd been having, a teacher that took supper with them that evening, and her studies. She informed him of her Latin exam and that her brother Paul had arrived in town. At the end, she asked when she should come home for Christmas.

Description:
Photocopy of a letter from Gertrude Osterhout to Junia Roberts Osterhout. She wrote her mother to update her on life at school. Gertrude mentioned the Thanksgiving dinner they had at school and time she had been spent with her brother, Paul. She had started learning to crochet and was excited about being able to go home in a few weeks for Christmas.

Description:
Photocopy of a letter from Gertrude Osterhout to John Patterson Osterhout. She wrote to her father to update him of her time at school. Gertrude mentions her grades and the rain they had been getting. The rest of the letter is missing.

Description:
Photocopy of a letter from Gertrude Osterhout to Junia Roberts Osterhout. She wrote to tell her mother about her return to the boarding house after Christmas. She related how her trip back went and that it was her birthday. She requested money for a dress and postage stamps.

Description:
Photocopy of a letter from Gertrude Osterhout to John Patterson Osterhout. She wrote her father to update him on her life at school. Gertrude apologized for having committed a sin and not confiding in her father. She spoke briefly about the weather and her brother, Paul.

Filter: Serial/Series Titles

This dialog allows you to filter your current search.
Each of the Serial/Series Titles listed note their name and the number of records that will be limited down to if you choose that option.
The list can be sorted by name or the count.

Filter: Resource Types

This dialog allows you to filter your current search.
Each of the Resource Types listed note their name and the number of records that will be limited down to if you choose that option.
The list can be sorted by name or the count.

Filter: U.S. States

This dialog allows you to filter your current search.
Each of the U.S. States listed note their name and the number of records that will be limited down to if you choose that option.
The list can be sorted by name or the count.

Filter: Counties

This dialog allows you to filter your current search.
Each of the Counties listed note their name and the number of records that will be limited down to if you choose that option.
The list can be sorted by name or the count.

Having trouble finding an option within the list of Counties? Start typing and we'll update the list to show only those items that match your needs.

Filter: Decades

This dialog allows you to filter your current search.
Each of the Decades listed note their name and the number of records that will be limited down to if you choose that option.
The list can be sorted by name or the count.

Having trouble finding an option within the list of Decades? Start typing and we'll update the list to show only those items that match your needs.